The worlds leading MMA promotion returns to the United States for their first show of 2021, bringing us UFC Vegas 18. Headlining the card is Alexander Volkov and Alistar Overeem, with a whole host of exciting fights further down the card. We take a look at the three women’s fights happening at UFC Vegas 18 and give a hint as to where we think they may go.
UFC Vegas 18
Karol Rosa vs. Joselyne Edwards
Karol Rosa has been a part of the UFC stable since 2019. In that time, she has had six fights canceled and only managed to compete twice. Her debut saw her defeat Lara Procopio by split decision. She then went on to defeat Vanessa Melo at UFC 251. The Brazillian holds a record of 13-3, having not tasted defeat since 2018. Rosa was originally set to face Nicco Montano at UFC Vegas 18, however, Montano withdrew as she wasn’t medically cleared to compete.
Stepping in on short notice is the exciting, Joselyne Edwards. Edwards only competed at UFC on ABC 1, notching a unanimous decision victory in a very exciting fight. Coming close to finishing it in the first, Edwards massively impressed in her debut. At 10-2 with eight finishes, Edwards is an exciting prospect at bantamweight and will certainly be on the radar of a lot of people if she can go 2-0 in 2021 as early as February.
Having gone three rounds less than a month ago, Edwards should have the edge on sharpness and cardio in this one. Don’t expect to see a finish but expect a fairly straightforward win for ‘La Pantera’.
Molly McCann vs. Lara Procopio
We were one of the first outlets to bring you this news back in October that Liverpool’s finest, Molly McCann would be making her Octagon return. The former CageWarriors champion enjoyed three back-to-back victories after a tough start to her UFC career. Breaking into the top 15, she was matched with Talia Santos, who largely outclassed her. McCann will be looking to get back to winning ways at UFC Vegas 18 when she faces Procopio and continue her quest for UFC gold.
Lara Procopio has been out of action since August 2019, having had a fight with Courtney Casey canceled last May. The Brazilian is 6-1 with half of her victories coming via finish. This will be Lara Procopio’s first fight since a USADA suspension. Procopio tested positive for Ostarine, which is commonly found in ‘tainted supplements’.
Expect McCann to dominate this one. She bounced back well from her loss to Gillian Robertson and expect much the same here. A unanimous decision victory or even a late finish for ‘Meatball’ could be on the cards.
Marion Reneau vs. Macy Chiasson
The only female fight set to feature on the main card is between Marion Reneau and Macy Chiasson. Reneau sits at 9-6-1 and has been a part of the UFC since 2015. The perennial top 15 fighter is stuck on a three-fight losing run, dropping fights to Cat Zingano, Yana Kunitskaya, and Raquel Pennington. In Reneau’s defense, all of these women have been title challengers at one point in their careers, so she’s only losing to elite competition. Prior to this skid, however, Reneau went on a three-fight winning run.
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